Episode 25: The Middle Way—a smarter approach to driving change
Published on 25 March 2025 • Hosted by Dr Lisa Colledge
Have you ever wanted to create positive change in your team but felt blocked by leadership?
Too often, leaders feel they have only two choices:
Fight leadership head-on (and risk resistance or burnout).
Lean out completely (and let things continue as they are).
But there’s another option: The Middle Way.
In this episode of Culture by Neurodesign, my partner and leadership coach Jaime Gennaro and I continue our discussion, this time focusing on how leaders can drive meaningful change within their teams—even without full leadership support.
What is The Middle Way?
Instead of fighting for, or waiting for, leadership approval, you just start to make small, measurable improvements within your own team.
Track what works: record your baseline and use data to prove success.
Build influence quietly: when metrics improve, leadership will take notice.
Create a ripple effect: once one team can show results, others want to follow.
Why this works
Leaders respond to results, not just ideas: metrics shift conversations.
Your team benefits immediately: even if leadership never gets involved.
It’s a risk-free strategy: you’re not asking for permission, just proving impact.
Jaime’s website is available here.
Read more about the benefits of engaging your team more closely with your mission: Let’s get engaged – right now!
I'm Lisa, and I take inspiration from neurodivergence-inclusion to help leaders create cognitively inclusive cultures that connect people with different cognitive styles, empowering everyone to contribute their best.
If you'd like to learn more about how prioritizing this single program would help you to boost not only engagement and wellbeing, but also innovation and resilience, please take a look at my free signature program: Neuro-Inspired: 12 Steps to a Future-Proof Workplace Culture.
